Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #3
Gorgeous, easy to make, and ridiculously delicious. Be sure to make these! Bet you can’t eat just six.
Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese Balls
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine‘s Pecan and Goat-Cheese Marbles
1 cup pecans (1/4 lb) 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 (11-oz) log soft goat cheese 2 teaspoons minced rosemary (I used dried) 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed with side of a large knife, then chopped About 50 to 60 large flat-leaf parsley leaves1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in upper third. Toss pecans with butter, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then toast in a 4-sided sheet pan until fragrant and a shade darker, 8 to 10 minutes. (Watch them very closely. If some happen to get a little burnt/dark, don’t worry- I thought it added a “smokey” taste and we still gobbled them up.) Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
2. Chop pecans rather finely, then transfer to a wide shallow bowl.
3. Stir together goat cheese, rosemary, coriander, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until combined well. Form teaspoons of cheese mixture into marbles between your palms, then roll in pecans to coat and roll between your palms again briefly. Transfer to a plate.
4. Put a parsley leaf over each cheese marble and spear together with a wooden pick.